Exhibitor.



No. 665,498. Patented Jan. 8, I901. Y C. H. WRIGHT.

EXHIBITOR.

(Application filed Mar. 1, 1900.;- (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Shoot I.

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No. 665,498. Patented Jan. 8, l90l. C. H. WRIGHT.

EXHIBITOR.

(Application filed Mar. 1, 1900-1 (No Model.)

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

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No. 665.498. Patented Ian. 8, l90l.

c. a. wmanr. EXHIBITOR.

(Application bled u'u. 1, 1900.,

(No'HodeL) '3 Sheetsheat 3.

FIGQS.

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UNITED STATES PATENT EEicE.

CHARLES HARRISON WRIGHT, OF EUREKA, CALIFORNIA.

EXHIBITOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 665,498, dated January 8, 1901.

Application filed March 1, 1900.

To all whom/ it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES HARRISON WRIGHT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Eureka, in the county of Humboldt and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Exhibitor, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip tion.

This invention involves a novel means for exhibiting goods, by which a single article is placed in view and held there fora short time, after which it is removed and a second article similarly displayed, this end being automatically attained by certain mechanism carrying the articles to be displayed and arranged under cover. Specifically, this mechanism comprises a carrier having a step-by-step rotary movement and an elevator working in conjunction with the carrier to take the articles individually therefrom and move them upward into exposed position, the elevator permitting the article to stand in view for a short time and then dropping the article out of view to subsequently return with a second article.

This specification is the disclosure of one form of the invention, while the claims define the actual scope thereof.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the invention applied to a show-case or showwindow. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the invention on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus with parts broken away. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the elevator in a different position; and Fig. 5 is an elevation, looking in the direction of the arrow, on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4.

As shown best in Fig. 1, the bottom or floor 6 of the show case or window has an opening formed the ein, over which is placed an orificed plate 7. The orifice in the plate 7 is preferably circular in form. The carrier and elevator mechanisms are arranged below the floor 6 of the show-case and out of the sight of the observer, these mechanisms serving periodically to raise an article through the opening in the plate 7, so as to expose the article to View, as Fig. 1 shows. The article is Serial No. 6 942. kllo model.)

held in this exposed position for a short period and is then moved down and replaced by a different article. This mode of exhibiting goods is highly attractive, since it not only particularly impresses the observer with the article exhibited, but will necessarily give rise to much curiosity concerning the apparently mysterious way in which the articles move into and out of view.

Below the floor of the show case or window the carrier is mounted. This carrier comprises a central or body portion 8, turning freely on a vertical stub-shaft 9, and radial arms 10, the ends of which are bifurcated so as to carry the plates 11 on which the articles to be exhibited are mounted. These plates 11 are flanged at their edges so as to be sustained in the forked or bifurcated portions of the arms 10 and also to permit them to be raised upward out of engagement with the arms by the elevator, the operation of which will be hereinafter described. Further, the plates 11 are of such form as to fit snugly within the opening in the plate 7 on the floor 6 of the show-case, as shown best in Fig. 1, thus forming a continuous floor with no orifice visible during the time that the goods are displayed. Fig. 5 also shows one of the plates 11 raised up into position to expose the articles, as explained. The elevator cornprisesw a head portion 12 and a rack-bar 14, fastened to the center of the bottom thereof and extending downward therefrom. This rack-bar is mounted to slide vertically on a gear-frame 15, arranged so that the arms 10 of the carrier will move over it. The rackbar 14 is held in operative position by means of guide-bars 16, fastened to the frame 15,and pins 17, also fastened to the frame 15, the pins 17 fitting in a longitudinal slot 18 in the rack-bar and running throughout the length thereof. Fig. 3 shows the carrier in position to place one of the plates 11 directly over the head 12 of the elevator, the elevator being lowered to a point below the outer ends of the arms 10 of the carrier. The driving mechanism,to be hereinafter described, is timed to stop the carrier in this position and also to cause the elevator to ascend, whereupon the head 12 engages under the plate 11 and moves up between the bifurcations in the end of the adjacent arm, thus lifting the plate 11 to the position shown in Fig. 4. The driving mechanism is also arranged to stop the elevator when it has been raised, as shown in Fig. 4, and then after the lapse of a short period of time the driving mechanism resumes its operation, causing the elevator to be moved down to the position shown in Fig. 3 and, further, causing the carrier to resume its rotary movement, thus placing a second plate 11 with its individual article thereon, so that the operation above described may be repeated.

The driving mechanism comprises a primary-movement shaft 19, mounted horizontally in the gear-frame 15 and carrying a pulley 20, over which a driving-belt is passed, and a balancewheel 21, both situate outside of the gear-frame. The shaft 15) carries a pinion 22, fast thereon and driving a spurgear 23, fast on a stubshaft carried by and outside of the frame 15. A pinion 24 is fast with the spur-gear 23 and drives a spur-gear 25, carried on a stub-shaft outside of the frame 15. The spur-gear 25 is in communication with a pinion 26 to drive the same, and this pinion drives a spur-gear 27 on a camshaft 28, which passes horizontally through the frame 15 from one side to the other. The cam is in the form of a wheel 29, at the outer side of which and near its periphery is a broad cam-flange 30, the surface of which is formed to effect certain operations of the elevator, as will be hereinafter fully described. The cam 29 also carries a stud 31 on its outer face, inside of the flange 30, and this stud 31 actuates the devices for imparting the before-mentioned step-by-step movement to the carrier. To effect the necessary movement of the carrier, I provide a ratchet-wheel 32, (see Fig. Sand the dotted lines in Fig. 2,) which ratchet-wheel is fastened to the hub or body portion 8 of the carrier, so as to impart movement thereto. This ratchet-wheel works with a spring-pawl 33, formed in two sections connected to slide on each other and having a retractile spring 34 extending between them to transmit movement from one to the other, this spring serving to permit a slight longitudinal yield in the spring-pawl. The spring-pawl is mounted to move longitudinally in bearings 35 and has an upward and thence longitudinal extension 36, projected to the cam 29 and lying adjacent to the outer face thereof. This extension 36 has an inturned end arranged in the path of the stud 31, so that as the cam 29 revolves in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3 the stud 31 will be engaged with the inturned end of the extension 36 of the pawl 33 and impart a longitudinal movement to the pawl, which then engages the ratchet 32 and gives the carrier a partial turn. The extension 36 of the pawl 33 is mounted to slide in bearings 37, similar to the bearings 35. The pawl 33 is returned by a retractile spring 38, connected therewith. (See Figs. 2 and 3.) A wheel 30 is fastened to the hub S of the carrier and has a number of radially-disposed dogs 40 pivoted thereon, such dogs being one for each arm 10 of the carrier and being respect-ivelydisposed in radial alinement therewith. These dogs 40 work with a keeper-plate 41, mounted stationarily at the base of the carrier and having an inclined upper edge, permitting the dogs to ride up to the top thereof. This keeper-plate 41 is notched so that the dogs will fall therein and the carrier will be locked. The pawl has a cam portion 33, and the pawl extends inward of the keeperplate 41 and below the dogs 40, so that as the pawl is reciprocated the cam portion 33 will ride under the dog which is then engaged with the keeper-plate and lift the dog so as to disengage it from the keeper and release the carrier. Referring to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the pawl is in position to move to the right and thus impart a movement to the carrier. It will also be seen that the cam portion 33is immediately to the left of that dog 40 which is engaged with the keeper 41. When the pawl starts to move to the right, the first action is that of the cam portion 33 to disengage the dog 40 from the keeperplate 41, and then the pawl is engaged with the ratchet to move the carrier until the next dog 40 rides into engagement with the keeperplate, and then the movement of the carrier ceases, it being limited by the pawl-33. Simultaneously with the ceasing of the movement of the carrier the appropriate dog falls into engagement with the keeperplate 41 and locks the carrier.

Splined on the shaft 1!) inside of the gearframe 15 is a double clutch member 42, which turns with the shaft and which is movable longitudinally therewith in one direction to engage a clutch member 43, which is loose on the shaft, and in the opposite direction to engage a clutch member 44, also loose on the shaft, both members 43 and 44 being situate inside of the frame 15. The clutch member 43 has fast thereto, but loose on the shaft 19, a pinion 45, which is in mesh with a spur 46, fast to a shaft 47, extending transversely through the gear-frame 15. The shaft 47 also carries a pinion 48, in mesh with a spur 4.), fastened to a shaft 50, mounted to turn in the gear-frame and extending outside of the frame, at the side thereof where the cam 29 is located. This extended end of the shaft 50 carries a pinion 51, which is in mesh with the rack-bar 14. When the clutch member 42 is locked with the clutch member 43, the movement of the shaft 19 is imparted to the clutch member 43, and this drives the shafts 47 and 50, turning the pinion 51 in such direction as to raise the elevator. The clutch member 44 carries fast thereto, but loose on the shaft 19, a pinion 52, which is in mesh with a spurgear 53, mounted on a stub-shaft carried by the gear-case, and this gear 53 meshes with a gear 54, fastened to the shaft 47. When the clutch member 42 is engagedwith the clutch member 44, the clutch member is IIO turned and serves to turn the shaft 47 through the medium of the gears 52, 53, and 54; but the movement of the shaft 47 under the action of the clutch member 44 is in a direction opposite to that in which the shaft 47 moves under the clutch member 43. The result of thisis that the shaft is driven by the clutch member 44 opposite to the direction in which it is driven by the clutch member 43. It is by the action of these parts 44, 52, 53, and 54 that the pinion 51 is moved to cause the descent of the elevator.

For automatically shifting the clutch member 42 and thus controlling the movement of the elevator I provide a lever 55, which is fulcrumed at the point 56 on the gear-frame 15, the lever extending horizontally to the left and being provided with a stud 57, bearing on the cam-flange 30 of the cam 29. By means of this cam-flange 30 the lever is moved on its fulcrum, the lever being pressed toward the cam by a spring 58, bearing against the lever adjacent to the stud 57. The free portion of the lever carries a bar 59, mounted to slide horizontally in the gearframe 15 just beneath the shaft 19, and this bar 59 carries a pin 60, which enters loosely between the parts of the double clutch member 42, permitting the clutch member to revolve without hindrance, but serving to slide the clutch member on the shaft 19 to engage either with one of the clutch members 43 or 44 or to lie in an intermediate position, in which it will be engaged with neither of the clutch members 43 or 44. The cam-flange 30 is so shaped that it holds the clutch member 42 engaged with the clutch member 43 for a certain period, during which the elevator is.

raised. Then the cam-flange 30 actuates the lever 55, so as to move the clutch member 42 to the intermediate position, during which period the article is held stationary and exhibited above the floor 6 of the show-window. Then the continued movement of the cam serves to throw the clutch member 42 into engagement with the clutch member 44 and. hold it there for a period,during which the elevator is lowered, and, finally, the cam serves to throw the clutch member 42 back to its intermediate position and to hold it there fora period of time, during which the elevator is at rest in the position shown in Fig. 3, giving the carrier time to move a second article over the elevator. During these operations the cam 29 will have made a single revolution and a second revolution begins, causing a repetition of the above-described operations, and so these actions proceed throughout the operation of the machine.

For holding the pinion 51 and the connected gearing stationary during the periods at which the member 42 is in the intermediate position I provide a spring-dog 61, fastened on the gear-frame in position to engage with the gear 53, thus holding the same stationary. This gear, it will be understood, is in positive connection with the pinion 51 through the medium of the parts 54, 47, 48, 49, and 50. For throwing the dog 61 out of engagement with the gear 53 during the movements of the pinion 51 I provide a reciprocal cam-bar 62, mounted to slide horizontally on the gearframe 15 and connected with the free end of the lever 55, to be moved thereby. This cambar works with a slight lip 63 on the dog 61, and when the bar 62 is moved to either extreme position the dog 61 is thrown outward and the gear 53 is left free to turn. The dog 61 is not influenced by the bar 62 except when the bar is in its intermediate position, and it should be understood that when the bar 62 is in its intermediate position the clutch member 42 is also at its intermediate position.

During the time that the elevator is below the floor 6 of the show-case the orifice in the plate 7 is closed, so as to give the floor of the showcase an unbroken appearance, by a closure-plate 64, shaped to fit snugly in the opening in the plate 7. This closure-plate is mounted on an arm 65, pivoted to the frame 15 at the point 66 and having a heel 67, arranged to be struck bya detent 68 on the head 12 of the elevator when the elevator approaches its lowermost position, whereupon the arm will be thrown from the position shown in Fig. 4 to that shown in Fig. 3 and the closure-plate 64 will be engaged with the walls of the opening in the plate 7, as shown. The arm 65, with the plate 64, is so poised on its pivot as to fall by gravity to the position shown in Fig. 4 when the detent 68 disengages the heel 67 of the arm; but for insuring this operation I employ a spring 63, mounted on the gear-frame 15 and engaged with the heel 67 of the arm 65 when the arm is in the position shown in Fig. 3. As the detent 68 disengages the heel 67 the spring 69 asserts itself and assists the force of gravity in removing the olosure-plate 64 from its operative position, thus furnishing a clear passage for the elevator in its movement to the position at which it embraces the article to be exhibited.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination, with a case or cover having an opening therein, of means situate in the case for periodically projecting and retracting an article through the opening thereof, and a closure for the opening in the case, such closure being actuated to close the orifice in the case during the time that the article is not exposed.

2. The combination with a case or cover, of means sustaining an article to be exhibited, and movable reciprocally to project and retract the article from and into the case or cover, and gearing for driving such means.

3. The combination, with a case or cover having an opening therein, of means mounted in the case or cover and serving periodically to project and retract an article to be exhibited through the opening in the case or cover and gearing for automatically driving said means.

4. In an exhibitor,the combination of means for periodically moving the articles to be exhibited, and a carrier serving successively to present to said means the articles to be exhibited.

5. In an exhibitor, the combination of a carrier serving to sustain a plurality of articles to be exhibited, an elevator serving to take the articles successively from the carrier and raise them above the same, and gearing for operatively driving the carrier and elevator.

6. The combination with a case or cover having an opening therein, of a carrier serving to sustain a number of articles to be exhibited, an elevator reciprocal toward and from the opening in the case or cover and serving. to successively take the articles from the carrier, to exhibit them through the opening, and gearing for operatively driving the carrier and elevator.

7. The combination, with a case or cover having an opening therein, of a carrier adapted to sustain the articles to be exhibited, an elevator movable to successively take the articles from the carrier, and project them through the opening, a closure serving to cover the opening when the elevator is removed therefrom, and gearing for operatively driving the several parts.

8. The combination of a revoluble member having a ratchet-wheel thereon, a reciprocal pawl serving to periodically move the said member, a plurality of dogs pivotally mounted on the revoluble member, and a stationary keeper with which the dogs successively engage, the keeper being juxtaposed to the pawl and the pawl having a cam portion serving to engage the dogs, to move them out of connection with the keeper.

9. The combination of an operated elevator, a closure, and a pivoted arm on the upper end of which the closure is rigidly mounted and supported, the arm being engaged by a part of the elevator when in lowered position, whereby to throw the closure to operative position.

10. The combination of a drive-shaft, a cam continuously driven therefrom, an elevator, means for raising and lowering the same, two trains of gearing actuating said means in opposite directions, and clutch mechanism controlled'by the cam and serving to throw said trains of gearing successively into operation, whereby to raise and lower the elevator.

11. Thecombination of adrive-shaft, a cam continuously driven therefrom, an elevator, gearing capable of raising and lowering the elevator, and means actuated by the cam and comprising clutches by which to control said gearing and cause the elevator to be raised or lowered.

12. The combination of adrive-shaft, acam driven continuously therefrom, an elevator, two trains of gearing serving respectively to raise and lower the elevator, a clutch member in connection with each train of gearing, such clutch members being loosely mounted on the drive-shaft, a double clutch member splined on the drive-shaft and movable to engage either of the first-named clutch members, or toa position intermediate of such clutch members, and actuating devices for the double clutch member, such actuating devices being driven from the cam.

13. In an exhibitor, the combination of a revoluble carrier having arms with forked ends adapted to support the articles to be exhibited, and an elevator mounted to move between the forked portions of the arms, to engage such articles to be exhibited and to lift them from the arms.

14:. In an exhibitor, the combination of a carrier adapted to have the articles to be exhibited placed thereon, and an elevator lying under said articles to be exhibited and movable upward to raise them from the carrier.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES HARRISON WRIGHT.

Witnesses:

G. R. GEORGESON, C. A. MINOR. 

